IG: Significant Vulnerabilities in Agency Child Care Centers

The GSA inspector general has raised concerns about the security of child care facilities in GSA-controlled space, saying that some are in buildings that “do not meet minimum security standards” or that “are or may be at risk.”

A report said that “significant security vulnerabilities” were found at all 11 of the facilities that auditors tested, accounting for about a tenth of all such centers in GSA-controlled space. It said there are about 7,000 children total in all centers, mainly of federal employees.

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It said that “many of the recommended security countermeasures have not been implemented” and that “until GSA obtains or allocates the funding to implement the minimum security standards, the child care centers are vulnerable to a wide range of security threats.”

The publicly issued version of the report did not identify which centers were studied or the specific threats to them, blacking out that information as “sensitive information related to federal building security.”

GSA management agreed with the recommendations, saying that it has begun comprehensive evaluations of the security of all centers in GSA-controlled space. “GSA is committed to addressing the proposed countermeasures where we are responsible for decision making and funding, and will work with sponsoring agencies to facilitate action to fund and implement upgrades that they are responsible for,” it said.

It added that where improvements would be “cost-prohibitive,” it will consider relocating or closing centers.